Patrones observados y factores que determinan la variabilidad espacio-temporal de la regeneración del pino carrasco (Pinus halepensis Mill.) después de un incendio

Los incendios son el tipo de perturbación natural más frecuente en los ecosistemas mediterráneos (Naveh, 1975; Gill et al., 1981; Trabaud, 1981). En un tiempo relativamente corto, y como consecuencia de diferentes factores sociales y climáticos, el efecto de los grandes incendios (mayores de 1000 ha) se ha visto incrementado en los últimos años (Prieto, 1995; Piñol et al., 1998). Así, en el periodo comprendido entre 1987 y 1994 se produjeron en Cataluña (NE Península Iberica) un total de 5279 incendios. El 99.7% de ellos fue menor de 1000 ha y quemó un 30% de la superficie total quemada, mientras que el resto de la superficie se quemó en tan solo 16 incendios de más de 1000 ha (0.3% del total) (Terradas y Piñol, 1996). Los incendios de gran tamaño suelen ser tambien incendios de alta intensidad (Huston, 1994), ya que suelen ir unidos a una cubierta forestal continua y extensa (Huston, 1994; Turner et al., 1994; Piñol et al., 1998), y a determinadas condiciones meteorológicas caracterizadas por largos periodos de sequía y fuertes vientos (Terradas y Piñol, 1996; Turner et al., 1997). Los grandes incendios pueden tener un doble efecto sobre el paisaje. Por un lado, pueden tener un papel homogeneizador, ya que el fuego normalmente arrasa la vegetación independientemente de la densidad, la edad, y la composición específica (Christensen et al., 1989; Bessie y Johnson, 1995), sincronizando en grandes áreas la sucesión de la vegetación (Connell y Slatyer, 1980), y eliminando la heterogeneidad generada por estadios más avanzados de la misma (Huston, 1994). Por otro, los grandes fuegos también pueden tener un efecto heterogenizador que depende de la escala a la que se observan (Turner et al., 1994, 1998): a nivel de paisaje (que correspondería a una escala de 10-104 km2, según McKenzie et al., 1996) se origina un mosaico de áreas quemadas y no quemadas, mientras que a nivel de zona quemada (que correspondería a la escala de bosque/comunidad, es decir, 1-10 km2, según McKenzie et al., 1996), la heterogeneidad espacial es el resultado del mosaico generado por las diferentes severidades con que se quema la vegetación (Turner et al., 1994). Turner et al. (1994) demuestran, en su estudio sobre los efectos del fuego en la heterogeneidad del paisaje del parque nacional de Yellowstone, que el patrón que se crea de áreas quemadas y no quemadas a lo largo del paisaje depende del tamaño del incendio, y que los principales factores que lo controlan son la velocidad y la dirección del viento (Eberhart y Woodward, 1987; Fryer y Johnson, 1988). A una escala espacial más pequeña, las variables ambientales responsables del mosaico de severidades de quema dentro de las zonas quemadas son las variaciones en la cantidad de combustible y de humedad, y la topografía (Christensen et al., 1989; Turner et al., 1994; Glitzenstein et al., 1995), mientras que, a una escala aún más pequeña, de individuo, las variaciones en la intensidad de quema frecuentemente originan una alto grado de heterogeneidad espacial en la supervivencia de las plantas (Christensen et al., 1989; Schullery, 1989). La intensidad del fuego posee un efecto predictible sobre el número y el tipo de plantas que mueren o son dañadas. Este riesgo de mortalidad está relacionada con el tamaño de las plantas (disminuye cuanto mayor es el individuo; Huston, 1994; Johnson, 1992), y con los mecanismos de resistencia al fuego, la inflamabilidad y las estrategias regenerativas de las especies (McKenzie et al., 1996). Entender las causas de la creación de heterogeneidad espacial postincendio, la distribución de áreas quemadas y no quemadas, el patrón de las diferentes severidades de quema y el patrón de supervivencia de las plantas, es básico para comprender la dinámica de la regeneración postincendio de las especies de las áreas quemadas (Turner, 1998). En el presente estudio se examinan, a diferentes escalas, las consecuencias de un gran incendio ocurrido en el nordeste de España en 1994. En concreto, el objetivo principal del estudio es (1) relacionar la heterogeneidad espacial generada por el comportamiento del fuego con las variaciones topográficas y la composición de la vegetación antes del incendio, y (2) ver los efectos directos, los patrones de supervivencia, que produce sobre las principales especies arbóreas (Pinus halepensis Mill.y Quercus ilex L.).Forest fires are the most frequent type of natural disturbance in Mediterranean-type ecosystems (Naveh 1975; Gill et al. 1981; Trabaud 1991). As a consequence of different climatic and social factors, the effect of large wildfires (i.e., fires larger than ca. 1000 ha) has increased in the last years (Greenpeace, 1995; Piñol et al., 1998). Thus, 99.7% of the 5279 wildfires that burned in Catalonia (NE Iberian Peninsula) between 1987 and 1994, were smaller than 1000 ha, but only affected 30% of the total surface. The remainder 16 wildfires (0.3% of the total) were large wildfires which burned 70% of the total surface (Terradas et al., 1996). wildfires are fires of high intensity (Huston, 1994), because they are associated with a continuous and extensive forest cover (Huston, 1994; Turner et al., 1994; Piñol et al., 1998), and environmental conditions characterized by large drought periods and strong winds (Terradas and Piñol, 1996; Turner et al., 1997). These large wildfires may have a double effect on the landscape. On the one hand, large fires are so extensive and so severe in some areas that they destroy forest vegetation independently of its density, age and composition (Christensen et al., 1989; Bessie and Johnson, 1995). The result is that the burned lanscape appears more homogeneous than it has been before the fire, because the heterogeneous vegetation patterns generated by the different succesion pathways are syncronized in large areas (Connell and Slatyer, 1980; Huston, 1994). On the other hand, large fires often result in a heterogeneous mosaic of burn severities as well of islands of unburned vegetation across the landscape (Turner et al., 1994, 1997). In their study on the effects of large fires on landscape heterogeneity in Yellowstone National Park, Turner et al. (1994) show that this pattern depends on fire size. The main factors responsible of this pattern are wind velocity and direction (Eberhart and Woodward, 1987; Fryer and Johnson, 1988). At a smaller spatial scale, several controlling environmental variables, such as air moisture, fuel type and topography, determine the mosaic of fire severities within the burned area (Christensen et al., 1989; Turner et al., 1994; Glitzenstein et al., 1995). At an even smaller scale, that of individual, fire intensity affects the number and characteristics of plants that are partially or totally burnt, and frequently originates a high degree of spatial heterogeneity in plant survival (Christensen et al., 1989; Schullery, 1989). This mortality risk decreases with plant size (Huston, 1994; Johnson, 1992), and depends on fire-resistance mechanisms, inflamability and regenerative strategies of species (McKenzie et al., 1996). Postfire spatial heterogeneity, which is determined by the distribution of burned and unburned areas and by the patterns of fire severity and plant survival, is basic to understand postfire regeneration in the burned areas (Turner, 1998). In this paper, we examine the characteristics and consequences on vegetation of a large wildfire that occurred in Catalonia (NE Spain) in 1994. The main objectives of this study are (1) to relate the spacial heterogeneity generated by fire behaviour with topography and prefire vegetation composition, and (2) to analyze the main survival patterns shown by the dominant tree species of the area, Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Mill.) and holm oak (Quercus ilex L.)

Preference by Donkeys and Goats among Five Mediterranean Forest Species : Implications for Reducing Fire Hazard

During the second half of the 20th century, European countries experienced an increase in their forest area due to the global change. Consequently, there has been an increase in large forest fires, mainly in the Mediterranean basin, and this has forced the development of several types of prevention programs. One of them is the control of the understory by livestock. In this sense, browsing with a combination of donkeys and goats could be a good option, as both animals usually feed on forest species. However, little is known about their preferences for the key species of the Mediterranean forest. Using a cafeteria test, the preferences and consumption of both animals have been determined for five typical species of the Mediterranean forest, such as Quercus ilex, Pinus halepensis, Phillyrea latifolia, Rubus ulmifolius, and Brachypodium retusum. Results showed that donkeys and goats could act complementarily in the reduction of the fuel biomass of forests. Donkeys appear to act more on fine fuel, such as B. retusum, and goats on the more pyrophyte species, in this case P. halepensis. In addition, given that donkeys are at severe risk of extinction in Europe, this role of providing ecosystem services could contribute to their conservation. Despite this study only showing that goats and donkeys would consume all five presented plant species and that there are some differences in consumption during a short-term test, it constitutes a useful first step for conservation and fire prevention in the Mediterranean forests

Responses in Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Fractionation after Prescribed Burning in the Montseny Biosphere Reserve (NE Iberian Peninsula)

La quema prescrita es una de las herramientas de gestión más utilizadas para recuperar los pastizales invadidos. Se ha informado que el fuego causa cambios en las propiedades físicas y químicas del suelo. Sin embargo, aún se desconocen los efectos heredados de las antiguas especies de plantas en las respuestas del suelo al fuego. Se investigó el efecto heredado de las antiguas especies de plantas sobre la distribución del fraccionamiento de carbono (C) y nitrógeno (N) del suelo después de la quema prescrita en la capa superior del suelo (0-5 cm y 5-10 cm) en matorrales mediterráneos en el Montseny. Muestreamos suelos bajo cinco tipos de parches de vegetación: Cytisus scoparius L., Calluna vulgaris L., Erica arborea L., Pteridium aquilinum L. y Cladoniabiocortezas, pre y post quema. El análisis multivariado de las fracciones de C y N del suelo mostró que los suelos bajo la leguminosa Cytisus y la biocorteza fueron los más diferenciados. Los tipos de parches de vegetación tendieron a responder de manera diferente a la quema, los suelos bajo Cytisus , Cladonia y Calluna mostraron la respuesta más fuerte. El C y N totales, y el C y N en la arena disminuyeron después de la quema en la capa de suelo de 0 a 5 cm. Por el contrario, el C en el limo, así como el N en la arcilla y el limo, aumentaron con la profundidad del suelo después de la quema. Este estudio será útil para comprender los efectos del legado ecológico y sus posibles consecuencias al planificar la quema prescrita.Prescribed fire is one of the most widely-used management tools to recover encroached rangelands. Fire has been reported to cause changes in the soil physical and chemical properties. However, the legacy effects of former plant species on soil responses to fire remains unknown. The legacy effect of the former extant plant species on soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) fractionation distribution after prescribed burning in topsoil (0-5 cm and 5-10 cm) was investigated in Mediterranean shrublands in Montseny. We sampled soils under five vegetation patch types: Cytisus scoparius L., Calluna vulgaris L., Erica arborea L., Pteridium aquilinum L., and Cladonia biocrusts, pre-and post-burning. Multivariate analysis on soil C and N fractions showed that soils under the legume Cytisus and the biocrust were the most differentiated. Vegetation patch types tended to respond differently to burning, soils under Cytisus, Cladonia and Calluna showing the strongest response. Total C and N, and C and N in sand decreased after burning in the 0-5 cm soil layer. Conversely, C in silt, as well as N in clay and silt, increased with soil depth after burning. This study will be helpful for understanding ecological legacy effects and their possible consequences when planning prescribed burning

Preference by Donkeys and Goats among Five Mediterranean Forest Species : Implications for Reducing Fire Hazard

During the second half of the 20th century, European countries experienced an increase in their forest area due to the global change. Consequently, there has been an increase in large forest fires, mainly in the Mediterranean basin, and this has forced the development of several types of prevention programs. One of them is the control of the understory by livestock. In this sense, browsing with a combination of donkeys and goats could be a good option, as both animals usually feed on forest species. However, little is known about their preferences for the key species of the Mediterranean forest. Using a cafeteria test, the preferences and consumption of both animals have been determined for five typical species of the Mediterranean forest, such as Quercus ilex, Pinus halepensis, Phillyrea latifolia, Rubus ulmifolius, and Brachypodium retusum. Results showed that donkeys and goats could act complementarily in the reduction of the fuel biomass of forests. Donkeys appear to act more on fine fuel, such as B. retusum, and goats on the more pyrophyte species, in this case P. halepensis. In addition, given that donkeys are at severe risk of extinction in Europe, this role of providing ecosystem services could contribute to their conservation. Despite this study only showing that goats and donkeys would consume all five presented plant species and that there are some differences in consumption during a short-term test, it constitutes a useful first step for conservation and fire prevention in the Mediterranean forests